I'm Here. Might As Well Win.

Sunday, August 14, 2011

The Ex

A break from painting. Kevin and I went to the Ex Saturday night with Kelly and Chantelle. We hadn't been for a long time and a lot has changed. Doukhobor bread was still there, though. And spudnuts. New to me was "taco in a bag". Kind of good. Lots of people.

Lots of crazy people. We didn't go on any rides but enjoyed walking around the midway. Lineups were really long for some of the rides.

We checked out the exhibits and the marketplace. The Shamwow and slap-chop guy wasn't there oddly enough. We tried out the vibrating exercise machine, the excerise ball/bike combo thing, and the electric back massager, which is a very popular item at the Ex. We tried on hats, admired purses, and Chantelle tested the amazing pillows, she being a bit of a pillow connoisseur.

We laughed at the hypnotist ... or moreso at the people who were hypnotized. We marveled at the guy who got shot out of a cannon. There were no photos allowed of the art and craft displays so I can't show you any photos of some of the beautiful quilts that were on display. We enjoyed the "History of the Exhibition" display. Lash La Rue! Ha!

The fireworks were pretty. And we had such a laugh at this abandoned and wrecked stuffed duck. The Ex isn't for everyone, you know.

And then we spent a substantial amount of time in traffic trying to escape the Ex. I can't believe the powers that be make it such a nightmare. There's surely a better way to manage traffic than that. Between Kelly's driving prowess and Kevin's knowledge of back lanes, we got out quicker than we would have otherwise.

House Painting - Not For The Timid

We've been busy. Mostly with this house painting business. Scaffolding, ladders, steep roof pitches, cutting in, rolling, trim, cleaning brushes, rollers, and trays. We won't be doing this again. Next time we'll hire professionals. Crazy. I don't expect we'll get the whole house painted this year. If we can get the back (which is the most time consuming and complex) done and the sides (one side left), we'll be happy. Today even I was painting up on the roof and I must say I was moving VERY carefully and VERY slowly. I'm not sure I would have been comfortable up there before I lost the feeling in my feet and I certainly was a little uncertain now. Still, I'm pleased with myself that I was able to get up there and help a little. Kevin is crazy. He crawls around up there fearlessly. Luke, like his Mom, is not quite so comfortable making like a monkey.

Luke leaves for Kentucky early Tuesday morning. Sad me.

Sunday, August 7, 2011

A Little Freshening Up

There's no stopping now. We started painting the house. We. Haha. Okay, NOT "we". Kevin and Luke started painting the house. First the prep work, of course, with a power washer and the orbital sander. And then testing paint colours.

We wanted pretty much the same butter yellow we had before but it's not easy to match. What we've settled on is a more yellow butter. You can see the difference in the photo of the back of our eyebrowless house. It looks like it had chemo, too. Anyway, you can see that the back of the house is more yellowish. I hope Luke can get a lot of painting done in this last week at home.

I've been playing a mere supporting role. Resident meal maker, house cleaner, grocery shopper, paint-picker-upper, clothes washer, drink deliverer.

And here's a garden tour. I'm so happy to have sweetpeas. They're not yet abundant and, alarmingly, the fist blooms - the deep pink ones - didn'd have any scent! I was SO disappointed because, for me, the scent is the whole purpose of sweetpeas, never mind that they're also very pretty. I'm happy, though, that the other colours are scented.

At one time I counted FIVE bees on a single globe thistle flower at one time! It's always very popular with the bees, as is the ligularia (the tall spiky yellow flowers from a previous post).

Note the weeds among my strawberries. I have no shame.

Thursday, August 4, 2011

Pinterest! Not Just Fun. Useful, Too!

I know you've seen this before. It's the quilt top I completed last week on my "quilt vacation".

What I want to share, though, is how I've been shopping for backing fabric ... from home. It's not an exact science, of course, but it does give me some ideas to work with. Besides, the fabric photos are beautiful to look at and there are some I've "pinned" on this board that I'm actually less interested in as backing fabric and more for the front of another quilt in the same colour family using some of the leftover fabrics from this one. So much beautiful fabric ... so little time!

I've been using Pinterest to keep track of my favourite fabric options. I use it for keeping track of all kinds of quilting information. When I see a photo of a quilt I admire or fabric I like or a book I might want to read someday or a recipe I might want to make or ... or anything for that matter ... I pin it so I can easily find it later. It beats the heck out of bookmarks because it's visual. If you're not familiar with Pinterest, check out my board of possible backing fabric for this quilt.

Check out my Extreme Cuteness Board for some images that will surely warm your heart. And for some giggles and deep thoughts, check out my Gotta Laugh Gotta Think Board.

I Think We're Getting a Roundabout!

That's what this looks like, doesn't it? I think it's a great idea for this residential intersection at MacPherson and 9th. Over the past 20+ years that we've lived here, I can't begin to count the number of times we hear screeching tires and, sometimes, crunching metal ... all at this intersection. People speed down 9th to avoid 8th street and get to the freeway. People speed down MacPherson off the freeway via 8th to to access a rather large residential area. It's always been an accident waiting to happen, so to speak.

Over the years it's gone from an uncontrolled intersection to a yield sign going one direction. Then recently, they put a stop sign but not where the yield sign had been ... they put it for the other direction, which, of course makes it still a dangerous intersection. And now this. This is the best option yet, I think, though it's quite incredible to see how many drivers are going around the wrong side of the roundabout. Maybe when it stops looking like a road construction project, people will get it.

The Early Detection and Prevention of Lymphedema

I'm very glad to see more research being done on lymphedema. In our cancer care system, at least, there's very little attention paid to it (in my experience) and yet I know and hear of massage therapists who specialize in lymphatic massage say they can usually prevent the condition from developing if they are able to work with someone at risk within a few weeks of their surgery and/or radiation treatments. Because of the loss of quality of life (and interference with employment, too, for example) and the medical costs of dealing with what can be irreversible, you would think our health systems would put a little more emphasis on including early detection and prevention as part of breast cancer treatment protocols.

With that in mind, I am really glad to see this report.

Please follow the link to download the report on lymphedema.

LATESTBreastCancer Blog: The Breast Cancer News Update: July 28:

"Lymphedema is a painful arm swelling caused by lymphatic fluid accumulation. It is most commonly associated with axillary lymph node dissection, but can be caused by any treatment which damages the lymphatic system. It is universally recognized that early detection and treatment yields the best results.

Yesterday, an expert panel convened by the Avon Foundation for Women, the Lymphatic Research Foundation and the National Lymphatic Network issued a white paper on lymphedema detection and care. Both the white paper and a PR Newswire press release may be found on the axillary lymph node dissection page of our website.

Typically, lymphedema is not detected until discomfort is present or swelling is visible. The white paper reviews the recent research and recommends pre-treatment baseline measurement and continuous monitoring post-treatment to detect lymphedema before visible swelling and discomfort. This is a novel recommendation. For example, the National Cancer Institute publishes a comprehensive summary of lymphedema (link), but the only preventative measure suggested is notifying your doctor if you notice signs of lymphedema such as discomfort and swelling.

In addition to early detection, the benefits of physical therapy, weight bearing exercise the compression sleeves are also discussed in the paper.

Breast cancer patients facing surgery or radiation may want to print the white paper and/or press release and discuss baseline measurements, post-treatment monitoring, exercise, compression sleeves and other lymphedema prevention techniques with their doctors. With proper monitoring, lymphedema may be detected and treated before obvious symptoms appear."

High Fiber Intake Lowers Breast Cancer Risk

High Fiber Intake Lowers Breast Cancer Risk:

"Women who want to lower their risk of developing breast cancer should seriously consider increasing their intake of dietary fiber. A study reported in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed that those who consumed the most fiber had an 11% lower risk of developing breast cancer compared to women who ate the least.

The authors stressed that according to their findings, it appears that a high dietary fiber intake is linked to better overall health, which possibly lowers breast cancer risk, rather than just the fiber itself lowering risk.

Approximately 1 in every 8 women in the USA develops breast cancer, and between 20% and 25% of them die from the disease."

Fruit, vegetables, nuts, seeds and pulses are all good sources of fibre as are whole grains and brown rice.

Guess Who Came Home?!

Luke, of course! And almost immediately there were a bunch of friends congregated at our house. Ahhhhh ... Love the sound of our kids and their friends in the house!

Luke is home for 2 weeks before he has to head back to Louisville, Kentucky for university. His Junior A lacrosse team in Victoria, the Shamrocks, got bumped out of the playoffs. He's going to give our house a fresh coat of paint while he's home - a paying job. We're sticking with the same butter yellow. We still like it.

Sunday, July 31, 2011

Sewing Machines - Starting to Follow Reviews

Conveniently for me, there's a discussion going on about sewing machines right now at Ellison Lane Quilts and this comment caught my eye, seconded by another commenter ...

I would not buy a low end Singer - having done it myself. Because if your friends ever want to start quilting then this will only frustrate them. The dogs are spaced too far apart for picking up the fabric for 1/4" seams as well as too far back to sew right from the edge. It just isn't versatile enough to do different types of sewing. So I would avoid at all costs and think a better, older machine second hand would serve them much better.

Maybe that's why I struggled with my quarter inch seams. I see a lot of Janomes and Berninas recommended in the comments. I'm surprised not to see a Pfaff recommended because I've seen several reports of people very happy with their Pfaffs.

I think I'll have to spend a day sometime just trying out various brands and models. I'm glad I have this experience with my low-end Singer, though, so I'll at least have something to compare.

I Married a Hobbit

You haven't seen tan lines until you've seen Kevin's! Okay, there's also a little surface dirt after weeding the garden, but mostly this is from wearing his sandals year after year. His feet look like this in the winter, too, just less so.

While I was sewing this afternoon, Kevin was weeding. He weeded until he was dizzy ... from the heat. It was very hot today. I can't believe his feet! He should wear sandals with a fish shaped strap across the front if he's so keen on getting tan lines. They might as well be a conversation piece. What am I saying? They're already a conversation piece. Obviously.

I had a slow start to my day because I had such bad ankle cramps last night starting around midnight. I didn't get to sleep until sometime after 4:30 a.m. and then they started again at 11:30 a.m. and went on for an hour or two. It's always my right ankle when I get these and they're worse than any I've had in my feet or legs. They would start every time I would lie down last night and once started, I would HAVE to stand up. The cramps were so strong, they twisted my foot to the side so that I couldn't put my foot flat on the floor until the cramp had subsided a little. I also couldn't feel my foot, which was very strange. Parts of me feet are still a bit numbed as a result of nerve damage from the chemo but they're not entirely without feeling. I can, for instance, typically feel that my feet are on the floor. When I was having these ankle cramps, I couldn't feel my feet at all while the cramps were at their strongest. While I haven't had a cramp since about noon, my ankle area aches a bit from where the worst of the cramping was. What a miserable night. If today had been a work day, I wouldn't have made it. As it is, I didn't get started on my quilt until after 1:00. I'm so glad to have the top finished. Isn't it pretty?!!

Don and Syl had us over for dinner tonight. Lots of fresh garden vegetables. Mmmm ... and angelfood cake with fresh from the backyard raspberries. Mmmm ... And a nice visit, too, with Uncle Reg and Marion.

I'm suddenly seeing the inside of my house with non-quilting eyes and it ain't pretty! It's pretty nasty to tell you the truth. I'd hate to have to start handing out hazmat suits to visitors before they walk through the door. So you know what I'll be doing tomorrow.

Quilt Top DONE!

YEAH! I made a plan and executed it. It took longer than I thought it would and it was trickier than I thought it would be. I learned a lot.

The wonkiness of the right side doesn't look too glaring in the photo, does it? Of course, I still might resew the one seam of the bottom border where there's that little tuck. You can see that I left some border fabric tags there just in case.

I'm so happy to have it done despite it's homespun charm factor. I'm very pleased with the colours and the fabrics. Now to choose some fabric for the back. I'm going to look for an all-over print in one of these fabrics or a coordinating fabric. I'll need quite a bit so something on sale will be ideal. And I also need to select binding fabric. I think I have enough of the green and I think it would look good for the border. Either that or pull out the little bit of pink/red/coral colours. Decisions. Decisions.

Tomorrow. I do a WHOLE LOT of house cleaning. Our boy comes home on Tuesday! For two whole weeks before he goes back to Louisville for his 4th year. It will be SO NICE to have him home for a while.

Sewing OOPS!

My last seam. Natch! About mid seam I wondered where the bit of fabric I needed to ease in had gone. I suspected I'd accidentally made a tuck but I couldn't find one. I found it while I was pressing. Just a little one. Hmmmm ... Do I leave it and consider it part of my quilt's "charm" ... haha ... or do I redo that seam. I haven't decided. Let me step away from the quilt for a bit first. I think I'll redo it. I didn't cut the tag end off my border quite yet so I still have the option.

Wrong Way. Right Way.

Today I've been sewing the borders on my quilt. The two long sides went smoothly. Better than I had anticipated. Yeah!

Then I had the top and bottom borders to do. I got one whole border strip pinned on and was about to sew when I caught myself. And good thing I did before I started sewing. I'd broken a cardinal rule of "right side to right side (unless otherwise indicated). So I unpinned the whole thing ... a copious number of pins ... and redid it ... right side to right side.

Sheeesh! A seam ripping episode averted.

Saturday, July 30, 2011

Another Quilt Making Hurdle Stumbled Over

Another step completed in my quilt project. I've really had to let go of any notion of perfection, I tell you!

So here is the pieced top. All that's left to complete the top is to attach the borders, which will frame the pieced section in wider strips of grey. I'll do that tomorrow. Then, at some later date, I'll choose fabric for the back, use some of the fabric leftovers from the front to embellish the back a bit, then take the whole thing to a long-arm quilter to finish. I may or may not put the binding on this one myself. Right now I'm too exhausted to even think about it!

Here's what didn't quite go as I had hoped:

The green strips run match up pretty nicely at the left of the quilt but as the eye moves to the right, they get increasingly out of alignment. By the time you're looking at the right side, they really aren't in very good alignment at all. My bad? Or my machine's bad? Or maybe a bit of both? I'll be able to answer that question myself after I try sewing on a new machine, but that won't be for a while. But I can tell you that I won't even THINK about trying anything with matching seams until either me or the machine situation is fixed.
It's not just the green bars that are out of alignment on the right side. The whole edge is a bit wonky. I think it's going to overall just look a little weird on that side of the quilt. I'm not getting too worked up about it, though. This is, after all, a beginner experience. A learning experience. And even if it's a bit wonky, it will serve the purpose of keeping someone warm. And the fabrics will still be pretty. And someone will love it, despite or even because of it's wonkiness. Or because I made it. So all's not lost. It could be worse. After I carefully repressed all the seams and then pressed the front and folded it to see how out of whack it was, it wasnt's badly unsquared, which surprises me. *shrug* We'll see what happens when I sew the borders on tomorrow.

See how the green bars to the left are more aligned than the ones on the right?

Here's a better photo showing how things line up quite nicely on the left side of the quilt.

Here's a photo that shows clearly how wonky things get on the right side of the quilt.

General lessons learned:

Precision cutting of fabric is a MUST.
Precision quarter inch seams are a MUST.
When your machine is skipping stitches, try replacing the needle ... again ... and again.
I definitely want ... no, NEED ... a new sewing machine.
Making quilts is hard on my back. If I keep at this, I will need a better, more ergonomic work space.
I'm going to join the Quilter's Guild this fall.
I hope to take some quilting classes, one of which I hope will be free motion quilting (to be done on my NEW machine).
Ironing brings on hot flashes.
Quilting causes a messy house. Guess what I'll be doing a lot of after I get the borders on this quilt?
Making quilts is a challenging and frustrating but rewarding endeavour.
If I'm going to make quilts for everyone I love, I have a lot of quilting to do. Pitty patter ...